By Andrea Arnold
Local domestic cats have been going missing from McBride with alarming regularity in recent years, and residents fear these incidents are becoming more common.
This past week, yet another cat was found approximately 14 kilometres outside the McBride village limits. Flower — a black-and-white long-haired male — was reunited with his owners after being rescued by other residents who spotted him.
Abi Ward lives close to what seems to be the popular dumping grounds for these catnapped felines.
“No idea who is taking them, but [it’s] presumably someone in town who hates cats,” she said. “Yesterday one of the two black cats that have been missing for a couple of weeks was found near death and starving at West Twin.”
In 2023, Ward was able to return Gina Gallacher’s cat to her, but not all stories get to have the happy ending. In another instance, she learned of yet another cat gone missing via Facebook posts. She saw the cat, but unfortunately was unable to catch it.
Ward’s neighbour Cassandra Johnson has also had her share of cats show up at her home. Johnson too has been able to help facilitate one happy reunion, and one lucky cat got to stay on the property and live the life of a barn cat. But not all have had a chance for a happy future.
“One had passed away at the end of the driveway, and one I couldn’t catch,” said Johnson.
Johnson says that it is not uncommon to see one or two each year, but that she thinks it’s become more frequent in the past couple years.
Both Ward and Johnson are glad they have been able to help in some instances, but they would like to see the occurrences stop completely.
“Maybe people with cameras in town need to start checking them,” said Ward. “Someone must know something.”
